200 Pesos

I remember Mike, talking in front of 100 people, a couple of years ago, started off his seminar by holding up a Php200 bill. In the room he asked. "Who would like this Php200 bill?" Hands started going up. Of course, I raised mine. He said, "I am going to give this Php200 bill to one of you" Then crumpled the 200 bill. I was surprised he did that. He then asked. "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air and again, I raised mine. "Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his black shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air and still, I wanted to get the Php200 bill.

"Folks, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease it's value. It was still worth Php200. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by ... WHO WE ARE.

You are special - don't ever forget it.